b. Kieran Hebden, 1980, London, England. Hebden decided to experiment with electronic music while taking a break from his involvement with acclaimed post-rockers Fridge. He began releasing solo material under the moniker Four Tet in 1997, a period during which Fridge were in the middle of a prolific burst of recording activity. His first two Four Tet singles, "Thirtysixtwentyfive" (the length of the track in minutes and seconds) and "Misnomer" were both awarded Single Of The Week by the New Musical Express. His wildly inventive 1999 debut, Dialogue, mixed instrumental jazz with a bizarre range of samples and sounded completely different from his work with Fridge. The album was well received and became the Output label's bestselling release. In 2000, Hebden worked with Stefan Betke to record the Pole v Four Tet EP for release on the Leaf label. The following year he launched his own label, Text Records, and journeyed to Toronto, Canada to collaborate with Manitoba's Dan Snaith.
Hebden's second album, Pause, was released in May 2001 by Domino Records. The album's extensive use of folk samples was noteworthy and prompted comparison with other so-called "folktronica" artists, including Manitoba, Boards Of Canada, Savath And Savalas and Greg Davis. The superb Rounds, released in summer 2003, honed the folktronica style to something close to perfection and was nominated by many critics in their end of year "best of" polls. Following the release of a limited edition live album and a mix collection in 2004, Hebden returned to the studio to complete work on Everything Ecstatic. Released in May 2005, the album shifted away from the folktronica style into an unsettling mix of Krautrock and free jazz.
In the mid-00s Hebden collaborated with the highly respected jazz drummer Steve Reid and two volumes of their improvised recordings, The Exchange Sessions, and the more conventional "pop" album Tongues were released on Domino. In addition to his solo work, Hebden has DJed at diverse venues including London's Fabric, and remixed tracks for artists such as Aphex Twin, David Holmes, Cinematic Orchestra and His Name Is Alive.
